By E A von Autenried
The award-winning Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, based in the West Windsor area, presents its annual Holiday Concert on Sunday, December 2, at 7 pm at the Princeton Alliance Church, 20 Schalks Crossing in Plainsboro, NJ (corner of Scudders Mill Road and Schalks Crossing ). The Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra consists of professional musicians, high-level amateurs, university students, and gifted pre-college students. Its conductor, Ms. Chiu-Tze Lin, is a highly-acclaimed musician who has performed around the world and is active throughout the Tri-State Area.
This Holiday Concert is partially funded by a generous grant from the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission. The concert will bring the community together, giving our spirits a special lift after the challenges of the recent “hurricane of a generation.” A community chorus of singers from area choruses and church choirs will perform selections from the Christmas section of Handel’s “Messiah." It will be conducted by Richard Tang-Yuk, a renowned choral conductor and artistic director of the Princeton Festival.
Richard Tang-Yuk is the founder of The Princeton Festival and was the Assistant Artistic Director at the Opera Festival of New Jersey, where he led over 29 opera productions. Dr. Tang-Yuk is a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (UK) and holds degrees in conducting from Mannes College of Music and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He has appeared as conductor with several orchestras, including the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Richardson Chamber Players, Brno Philharmonic in the Czech Republic, Princeton Festival Orchestra, and Princeton University Orchestra. Before coming to the United States, he was Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Trinidad and resident Conductor for Trinidad Opera Company. He has conducted the “Messiah” for the National Choral Council at Lincoln Center. While on the choral faculty at the Indiana University, he conducted the Mozart Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Dr. Tang-Yuk was also Director of Choral Music and Associate Director of the Program in Musical Performance at Princeton University. He led the Princeton Glee Club on 8 overseas concert tours including appearances in Hong Kong, Brazil, Italy and Buenos Aires.
The concert program will also include the “L’Arlesienne Suite No. 1” by Georges Bizet, with its familiar Christmas carol melody. Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” overture will take us to old Vienna, where romantic waltzes welcome the new year. The “Overture of Jewish Themes” will celebrate a festive holiday tradition reflecting the rich cultural diversity in Central New Jersey. The audience will be invited to join in the ever-popular holiday music sing-along at the end of the concert.
General admission is $15, $12 for seniors and students. Premium seating is available at $25 each. Tickets purchased in advance are $12 and can be obtained online from the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra website www.bravuraphil.org or by calling (609) 790-9559, (732) 792-2070, (609) 933-4729 (Chinese), or emailing bravura.orchestra@gmail.com. Further information regarding the orchestra can be found at www.bravuraphil.org.
